In addition to the province's economy, Alberta's ban on renewable project approvals is a setback for rural municipalities that need the estimated $28 million in tax revenue.
Utility companies also train members to sell builders on the continued use of the planet-heating fossil fuel, including through trainings at conferences and webinars. “Stress the lifestyle benefits that come with a natural gas home,” one instructor said in a recording of a training session heard by the Guardian.
A bill that would exempt fuels used for heating livestock barns, greenhouses and drying grain from the carbon pricing regime has been amended to only apply to grain drying. The proposed exemption will now end after three years instead of eight.
Almost immediately after the town of Prévost, Que., passed a bylaw banning natural gas this autumn, the 12,000-person community was hit with a lawsuit from Quebec's gas utility, Énergir.
After days of shaving off the edges of key warming issues, climate negotiators zeroed in on the tough job of dealing with the main cause of what's overheating the planet: fossil fuels.
The Conservatives dialed up the pressure on the Senate on Tuesday to vote in favour of a carbon-pricing bill, all the while accusing the Liberals of trying to intimidate senators into delaying the bill.
For over a year, Danielle Smith has been talking a big game about her "Alberta Sovereignty Act" and how it will put Ottawa in its place. As it turns out, that's all it ever was: talk.
A Conservative private member's bill to exempt more fuel used by farmers from the carbon price is stirring up intense lobbying efforts in the Senate, and leaving the Liberals on the verge of being forced to carve up their signature climate policy even more.